


Break Time

by sigmatimelord



Category: Re-Animator (Movies)
Genre: Herbert not being as cold as people think, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, no betas we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-09 01:56:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20986919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sigmatimelord/pseuds/sigmatimelord
Summary: Herbert takes a break in the morgue, no Reagent involved.





	Break Time

Herbert West opened the door to the morgue. It was surprisingly empty of cadavers, but that wasn’t why Herbert was there. He was there to let down his mask and take a moment to be himself. No social politics or inane comments and frivolous niceties that would be taken the wrong way by patients and staff alike. The dead didn’t judge. 

Herbert knew about the whispers behind his back where they thought he couldn’t hear. How he was emotionless, humorless, a robot in disguise, a creep. He found the notion rather amusing if misguided. He preferred to not have his emotions get in the way of his work. Compartmentalization. His humor, however, tended to be morbid at best, and not the most well received by others. But he did enjoy some puns and clever wordplay, which, to his dismay, tended to also not be well received by others. So he rarely did jokes for the amusement of others. After all, giggling at a book of malpractice examples like a joke book wasn’t the most smiled upon past time. Then again neither was curing death. They didn’t appreciate his genius.

It was cool, as to be expected where dead bodies were to be stored. The cold air was a comfort to him. It helped the tension drain from his small frame. It felt good.

He could feel. He knew quite well the feelings of joy when he had been accepted by one of the foremost leading specialists in the field. He knew the dread that settled in his stomach when he found his dear mentor, Herr Gruber, on the ground. He hid his tears later on the plane trip back to the States. Herbert has been glad that it was an overnight flight and most of the passengers were asleep. He knew the anger, certainly, of the accusations from many that he was responsible for the death. How dare they presume he’d do such a thing! He was working to prevent and defeat death, not create more of it!

West unclenched the fist that had formed during the thought. He turned his mind towards more pleasant thoughts, like of Daniel. 

Of course he wasn’t cold and unfeeling. His attraction to Daniel was evident enough that even he, himself, couldn’t deny it. But Danny was presumably straight and off limits in that way to the bespectacled scientist. It rankled.

The PA crackled and called his name. He slipped out of the peaceful silence into the rushing cacophony of life in a hospital.

**Author's Note:**

> I always found the fandom tendency to forget how much we see Herbert cracking jokes rather odd. I mean he made so many to a severed head!


End file.
